The PPC Posting Board - Latest posts

First, we want to keep the Board family-friendly, because we do sometimes get younger teens here and we don't want to scare them or their parents. That means the Words You Can't Say On TV are right out.

Second and even more important, there's a difference between critiquing a work and insulting it. We encourage the former, because critical thinking and literary analysis are at the heart of what we do here. We do not care for the latter, which is what you're doing when you call something a piece of crap or refer to a group of people as entitled morons. In fact, this is expressly prohibited by our Constitution, which I suggest you reread. See especially Section Two, but read the whole thing.

Listen: It's okay to not like things, but it's not okay to fling insults at anything you don't like, regardless of whether the words you use are considered "bad words" or not. It's ESPECIALLY not okay when the insults are directed at people. If you want to talk about something you're not a fan of, that's fine, but if you can't express your opinion about it without resorting to insults, please don't bring it up.

~Neshomeh

Isn't it possible to take one and just say no one's gotten to it yet, as long as it hasn't been missioned?

https://www.wattpad.com/553880786-female-harry-potter-ninja-in-the-making-october
One of my favorites- female!Harry, soulbonded with an underage Hermione, heir to every magical house that exists and showered with gold. Oh and it's a Naruto crossover.
The spelling and grammar are terrible- the author claims to be Dutch.
What really pushes it over the edge is the fact that in this fic, Lily and James survive Voldemort's attack for reasons that have never explained, and proceed to be mustache-twirling evil, favoring the Sue's twin, Alex, then forgetting the Sue's existence and assuming she's a Death Eater.
I'd have claimed it myself, but I don't know anything about Naruto. I hope you all enjoy!

If you're interested in this sort of thing, the PPC Archivists Society* is always recruiting!

* This is not a real society. It's just me, hS, and doctorlit (plus my helpers at The Lost Tales). We all independently host old PPC stuff that would otherwise be lost or only accessible via Wayback Machine or Archive.is, and we obsess about things like this for fun. Insanity comes in many forms. {= )

~Neshomeh

My brain has melted out through my ears. The hype is real. Up is down, black is white, clockwise is widdershins, and my brain is full of frell.

And there are still two more episodes! But Phobos says there's no point in watching them. We might just go straight to End of Evangelion. But, then again, who knows? It's entirely possible none of this is real anyway! {= D

~Neshomeh

From what I've seen, I don't trust CDPR to approach those questions with the tact necessary to do anything interesting or meaningful - they've treated trans people like a joke on twitter, spread gender non-conforming bodies on in-game advertisements meant to be shocking, and not even begun to discuss nuance in interviews.

And without nuance and understanding, just asking those questions can get into some nasty territory. It's a pattern that minorities see, over and over again - some privileged person just wants to have a nice reasonable discussion about whether or not we're human. Or clean. Or if it's wrong to hurt us. And what they're seeing as a nice civil discussion is, for us, a fight for survival - we can't just walk away because the people who are arguing against us will take it as admission of defeat, we have to play, once again, as people demand that we prove that we have the right to exist to whatever standard they want.

To angry-type for a moment: The humanity of my augmented body should not be up for debate. (And my body is literally augmented! I have rebuilt it with technology in order to live a better existence, that is the definition of augmentation!) I am not unclean, my existence is not profane nor "out of touch with my inner nature", and trying to raise those questions, to ask people to decide if maybe I shouldn't be considered "clean", is an act of violence.

I would play, and love, your ideal game. There's really interesting questions that can be asked here, and queer cyberpunk gets into amazing territory. But... CDPR, at this point, has a track record of cataclysmically un-ideal takes on queer and especially trans experiences. I don't trust them to have any of the nuance and understanding necessary to actually present these questions in a way that will be meaningful to people - I fully expect the game will be a massive, shiny, expensive megaphone that blasts doubts and uncertainties that anyone who doesn't fit its mold of "normal" might not be deserving of respect, or rights, or... existence. And that'll be in metaphors and symbolism, sure, but... it's not terribly far to go from "we're questioning the humanity of people who rebuild their bodies with (fictional) technology" to "we're questioning the humanity of people who rebuild their bodies (slightly more subtly) with (real) technology."

I didn't even notice that I wrote the 's' word in there. Apologies again again.

...as in, I interpreted the wiki's article on fictional swear words as indicating they were acceptable? I apologise if that isn't the case, as I was under the impression that people reminding me about language was meant to be comical or something?

Apologies again. I've been having a rough time lately IRL.

I'm glad i kicked off a conversation to unearth a few more PPC stories and help things get more organized. Thanks everybody.

I also agree that de-canonizing something just because we are ashamed of it would be a bad idea. to much room for subjectivity further down the line. an obvious tag signaling that the management views it as a mistake however, that seems ok to me.

I watched the trailer, read the pertinent pieces of the interview, and it kind of seems like the kind of discussion you kicked off here, with all of the important questions, (what is a human? what is humanity? is it wrong to hurt something that isn't? what is clean/unclean? who gets to decide?). Is exactly the kind of discussion the creators want. I think it's ok to have a piece of media that asks the player to think about these questions, and even provide answers that the player can either accept or reject.

That particular member of the dev team obviously has some of his own beliefs regarding using frivolous augmentation to remake the body: cheapening the inherit value of the body, disconnecting it from where it originally came from, losing touch with nature, losing touch with the spirit (sacredness). just looking at what i read, he may or may not even hold this belief with all augmentation or just the utter frivolity and ridiculousness with which it is apparently used in cyberpunk.

Ideally the game will present the player with ideas and stories that are hard to swallow and ask them to sort them out, think about them, make decisions. if the game is well made, it will probably present all the arguments and portray augmented characters in humane light, while maybe also presenting something in the other extreme, maybe a person who's brain has been replaced with a super computer, all the memories are there, but maybe it doesn't have humanity anymore. Maybe there will be people who are just piles of parts, no more body even left. is that still human? is it wrong to destroy it? abuse it? is it just an object now? the holder of the body seems to have been treated like it didn't matter, so why should i treat it like it matters?

as uncomfortable as these questions can be, i like at least that the game would like to approach the subject. And even though i'll never be playing it, hopefully they have tact in the final product.

PS I just remembered that the trailer presents someone who HAS augmentation in a completely human light, very sympathetic, very personal, obviously protagonist material. (this being said i have not seen the game-play, i have no idea who the protagonist actually is)

Yes, do keep reading. Tell us what you think! This should be fun to watch. ^_^

When you're done, I've got a couple more recommendations for you!

~Neshomeh

(Only 100 entries left to go on the datestamped list, for the first pass at least. A second pass to pin down everything that should have a Board post associated with it will follow.)

hS

Because things will start looking very familiar around Chapter 10. ^_^

hS

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/602168/3/Taken-Far-Too-Literally

Basically adult girl named Mary Sue ends up in a cheesy Tolkien fanfic against her will and is forced to go through it all while complaining about how ridiculous badfic is.

My agents didn't even exist in any form back in 2004.

Minh, did you just swear again?

A) We never had it to begin with, since it wasn't on any of the lists until (I discovered) doctorlit added it to the Final Fantasy page a few years ago, and B) Out of Continuity is a category for housing stuff that's not canon so we can still keep track of it and it can be found if anyone's specifically looking, because I hate losing information as much as you do. {= )

That said, I agree the story itself isn't thaaat bad (though the "one man gay pride parade" comment as insult raises my eyebrows), so I think a compromise sounds good. I propose that I make a page for the author and give a brief explanation there. There isn't enough information about the main agent for him to get a page of his own (let alone the rest of them), so that can go there, too.

Rest assured, I don't want to slide down the slippery slope, either. {= )

~Neshomeh

You’ve been making a lot of rage-fueled posts lately and breaking the Constitution’s no-swearing rule repeatedly. Can you calm down, take a step back, and think about why you’re in the PPC? Because if you just want someone to complain constantly to, this isn’t the place for it.

I knew you'd get into it.

As for Gendo... well... uh... yeah.

Sorry, here's the links

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3631062/1/XSGCOM-Mirror-Image

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12486706/1/Trapped-in-40K

XSGCOM: Mirror Image by Hotpoint

A crossover between Stargate SG1 and X-COM: UFO Defence (i.e, the 1990 game). It features a xenophobic "Gary-Stumanity" version of X-COM coexisting in the same universe as the SGC. Oh, and they take over the SGC. Also, they make them pay for new guns. Oh, and they tell Hammond that if he doesn't do as they tell him, they'll dissect Teal'c. Oh, and all the X-COM operatives are gung-ho macho morons who are hyped up on experimental stimulants, and act extremely incompetent along the way. Let's not forget that X-COM pilfers all the best Stargate characters outside of SG1 for themselves. Somehow this got a massive following on Space Battles, and a lot of people call it a goodfic. I call it a piece of shit that is really disrespectful to Stargate. At least the author did their research for the most part.

Trapped in 40k by Eclipse Pheniox

This is the rewrite of one of the most infamous fanfics over at Library of the Dammed. It's not much better either. It features a Gary-stu self-insert who basically has sex with every single kind of life form in the Warhammer 40k universe, while also worming his way into being a frakking Inquisitor of all things, as well as a noble, as well as being the commander of a army; before also fighting off a Ork attack, and being the Emperor's chosen one or something...it's really bad. As the rotten cherry on top of the mount of chocolate-flavoured mound of shizzle, the story also trivialises sexual assault and rape, trivialises slavery, breaks canon so badly that I swear that I started seeing red; and has atrocious pacing, terrible SPaG, and a plot that barely exists outside of sex scenes.

...because I personally think they're a bunch of entitled morons who use the veneer of "community service" to take down anything that doesn't exactly meet the criteria of FF.net.

Case in point: Has anyone here read the script-fic "William Shakespeare's Borderlands 2", a parodic retelling of the video game 'Borderlands 2' in the style of William Shakespeare?

Well, according to the author (who I know IRL, and who's a much, much better author than me), someone claiming to be from CU PM'd him to inform him that the fic he was writing violated the guidelines of the site. Now, while this is true, the fact that it violated the guidelines doesn't mean it's immediately bad. I was a avid follower of the story, and when my friend proceeded to tell me that three weeks later, FF.net sent him a takedown notice by email, noting 'user complaints about violations of our guidelines'- that is, three weeks after he had been notified by Critics United- I was enraged.

It's good to stick to the rules. It's not good to be so frakking pedantic about said rules that you take down a excellent story that was written by someone who is currently getting a book published through Random House, and not one of the assortment of badfic writers and other people who Critics United purport to 'Bring Down the Quality of FF.net'.

I am perfectly aware that people could accuse the PPC of being 'bullies' or of being 'elitist gatekeepers'. But there is a massive difference between writing humorous and lighthearted critiques of fanfiction, and actively spamming the admins to get a fic taken down. There is a massive difference between simply mocking badly written stories, and doing so without malice, than taking down any fic that violates the guidelines of the site, without regard for quality or decency.

...I am almost certain someone here is going to be a part of that group, and I'm sure that they're going to take issue with this. So let me make it clear that- as with any group- there are those who do it for the right reasons, and those who do the job in a moral fashion, and those who just do it because they're assholes. It'd be wrong of me to lump all of the members of CU together, but in all honesty, the group's whole purpose is unnecessary, and also detrimental to the whole idea of creativity.

Only, uh, without the 'death' thing... the idea being to say that 'we acknowledge that this person was given Permission and has the right to have their story recognised as canon, however we do not support their general attitude'.

Or... is this overly pearl-clutching on my part? I feel like I'm about half an inch from making a Slippery Slope argument, when really I'm just bothered by the idea of discarding information we don't absolutely have to.

hS

"Pain and Regrets, Power and Battle" - rated K+
The Dark Lord has risen, Lupin and Harry taken by him. Shawna and Rebecca are the only ones to help. But their help is not all that's needed. The shattered, crimson lives of innocent people are needed to bring Voldemort to his downfall....

It's bad, its latest update as of April 2004 fits my timeline to a T, and what Remus ends up doing in the last chapter would definitely upset him quite a lot once he came to his senses. Poor guy. {= (

Anyone want a historical sporking target? {= D

~Neshomeh

Backstory: I'm trawling through the Harry Potter section of Fanfiction.net circa 2004, because I'm working on this FicPsych prequel story, and I need fodder for a passage I really want to keep but which my timeline doesn't allow for in the latest revision. (Was originally going to be post-release of the PoA film and the advent of the werechihuahua, but that doesn't work.) I guess I could just make up a reason for Remus Lupin to be having a hairy conniption in FicPsych, but if I can find an actual fic from about the right time that fits the bill, so much the better for verisimilitude.

Reason for this post: I found a couple of obvious badfic parodies by Remmysoneand-only, and they're ALMOST understated enough to pass for the real thing, but... well, have a look.

"Lexi's Two Loves" - rated T
Lexis in love but with who? Snape's after her and she has to get away but does that mean leaving her love?

The end of this might make it cruel enough to serve my purpose if it were serious, which it isn't.

"Harry Potter and the Dragons of Chimbiwia" - rated M
try to guess why its that title! the story is about harry and his girlfriend and their adventures with voldermort and everything else

The true crime here is that (spoiler!) there are no dragons in this fic. I never thought I would be this disappointed NOT to see absurdly named, out of place dragons in a fic. {X D

So, if you're looking for something short and stupid to torture your agents with, there you go, a couple of super-old trollfics you may spork to your heart's content with absolutely zero qualms. ^_^

~Neshomeh